Author: National Center for ESL Literacy Education, Washington, DC.
Publisher:
Published: 2000
Total Pages: 16
ISBN-13:
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The National Literacy Summit 2000 was convened in Washington, DC, to develop a national vision and plan of action for adult literacy in the United States. Following that meeting of literacy professionals from across the country, a group of professionals working in adult ESL education and research came together at the Teachers of English to Speakers of Others Languages (TESOL) convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, in March, 2000, to ensure that the needs of the large and growing population of adult English language learners are addressed in this action agenda. This discussion, which complements "From the Margins to the Mainstream: The Action Agenda for Literacy" (National Literacy Summit, 2000), focuses on the characteristics and needs of adults learning English as a second language, the programs that serve them, and the policies that affect them. Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) envisions a system for the education of adult English language learners that provides high quality language and literacy services for this linguistically and culturally diverse population. TESOL urges the United States to develop a system of high quality appropriate language and literacy services specifically tailored to the needs of adults learning English as an additional language. This system should be no less in quality, recognition, and support than the system in place for K-12 and higher education. The services developed within this system should support adults learning English, regardless of their language and cultural backgrounds and previous schooling, to accomplish their immediate and long-term educational goals and to make significant and discernible progress toward reaching their full potential in their roles in society. Adult ESL education must take place within a system that is on a par with K-12 and higher education in terms of status, infrastructure, attention, and financial support. This system consists of five critical components, which must work together toward the common goal: (Priority 1) Develop high quality programs that are responsive to the needs and goals of English language learners; (Priority 2) Create collaborations with organizations and institutions outside the instructional program; (Priority 3) Make policies at national (foreign and domestic), state, and local levels responsive to the current (and changing) population of adult English language learners, formulating and implementing them with involvement of all stakeholders; (4) Ensure that resources are available to implement high quality, effective programs and to conduct needed research; and (5) Establish research priorities related to adult ESL populations and earmark funding for adult ESL research in all national adult literacy initiatives. Ensure that the results of this research are clear, easily accessible, useful to practitioners, and clearly linked to the realities of practice.
